Yarn drive roller

ABSTRACT

A yarn drive roller having a two-part co-planar drive surface, one part being metallic or of other wear resistant material and the other being a frictional drive surface of synthetic material, rubber, or other composition.

limited States .18

Andrew et all.

[111 3,831,874 Aug, 27, 1974 YARN DRlii/E ROLLER inventors: Keith LemonAndrew, 2419 Cliff Rd., Mississauga, Ontario; .iohn Anthony Ciliarnocir,8 Langmiur Crescent, Toronto, Ontario; John Prescott lBrowne, 21 ReganCrescent, Georgetown, Ontario, all of Canada Filed: July 5, 1972 App].No; 269,177

Foreign Application Priority Data Sept. 22, 1971 Canada 123410 US. Cl2412/4701, 28/713, 29/110,

29/130, 57/90, 242/47.09 lint. C1 B6511 511/00 Field of Search 242/4701,47.08, 47.09,

242/47.1, 47.11, 45, 18 DD; 57/90; 28/713; 29/110, 115, 116 R, 125,130,132

[56] Reterences Cited UNiTED STATES PATENTS 3,020,621 2/1962 Sacks242/47.09 UX 3,491,963 1/1970 Schlumpf 242/47 01 3,501,102 3/1970 Long242/47.09 3,561,045 2/1971 Heffernan 242/47.01 UX FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATlONS 1,144,163 2/1963 Germany 242/18 DD Primary Examiner-StanleyN. Gzilreath [5 7] ABSTRACT A yarn drive roller having a two-partco-planar drive surface, one part being metallic or of other wearresistant material and the other being a frictional drive surface ofsynthetic material, rubber, or other composition.

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures YARN DRIVE ROLLER The present inventionrelates to a yarn drive roller, such as is used on false twistingmachines in the textur izing of synthetic yarns.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The texturizing of synthetic yarns iscarried out on what is known as a false twisting machine in which theyarn is processed at high speeds. Such machines employ a large number ofdrive rollers, as many as 200 such rollers being employed on some suchmachines. The yarn is wrapped around the drive rollers for several turnsvia an idler pulley and, by virtue of the very high speeds of operation,such rollers are subjected to very heavy wear. In fact, due to theabrasive qualities of the synthetic yarns, the drive surfaces of thedrive rollers quickly become worn and indented, and alternate groovesand ridges appear in such surface which adversely affects the yarnprocess carried out by the machine, and impairs the quality of thefinished yarn. At the present time, such drive rollers are required topro vide a certain amount of friction as between the surface of theroller and the yarn, so as to ensure positive drive of the yarn. Inaddition, by virtue of the fact that the yarn is wrapped around theroller and idler several times, it tends to bite into the rollersurface. The required degree of friction is at present produced by theemployment of a so-called tire formed of tubular polyurethane or rubbermaterial slipped onto the outside of the roller, and machined to apredetermined size. When the polyurethane or rubber tires become worn,it is then necessary to remove the rollers from the machine, and then tostrip off the tires, and replace them with new ones, afterwhich they aremachined to size. This is obviously a fairly time consuming procedure,and is wasteful both in the actual cost of replacement, and also in thedown time of the machine involved.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention therefore seeks to providean improved drive roller, designed to provide the required frictionaldrive for the yarn, and designed to withstand continued heavy duty usagewith a minimum of wear, and in addition, which is of such a design thatit can be readily serviced without the necessity for repeatedly removingthe rollers from the machine.

More particularly the invention seeks to provide a yarn drive rollerhaving a two-part co-planar drive surface one part being metallic or ofother wear resistant material and the other being a frictional drivesurface of synthetic material, rubber, or other composition.

More particularly, it is an objective of the invention to provide areplaceable drum for such drive rollers comprising a thin walledmetallic sleeve adapted to slip over the roller, and an exterior tirefitted around such sleeve, thereby simplifying the replacement of theoriginal tire.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention toprovide such a drum formed of metal, one end of which is enlarged to thediameter of the drive surface of the roller and provides a highly wearresistant metal drive band for engagement by the first turn of the yarn,and the remainder of the sleeve being of reduced diameter, and carryinga tire of polyurethane, rubber or composition of the same diameter asthe metal drive band to provide the required amount of friction.

The foregoing and other objectives will become ap parent from thefollowing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention whichis given here by way of example only with reference to the followingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective illustrationof a portion of a false twist machine showing a yarn drive rollermounted in position thereon;

FIG. 2 is a sectional side elevational view of the roller shown with thereplaceable drum in exploded form,

FIG. 3 is a greatly enlarged sectional illustration along the line 3-3of FIG. 2, and,

FIG. 4 is a sectional side elevation of a further embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG.1, this illustration discloses only a very small portion of a falsetwisting machine that is to say the portion comprising one of the manyyarn drive roller assemblies, as it is mounted on the machine. Thisassembly is in fact mounted on a vertical pivot, on the machine, and canbe swung to an fro between two positions as desired, in a manner wellknown per se in association with such machine. Obviously, the entiredetails of the false twisting machine are not relevant for the purposesof the present invention, and are therefore omitted for the sake ofclarity. There will of course be many such drive roller assemblies,located at various points on the machine.

Again referring to FIG. I, the yarn drive roller assembly will be seento comprise a complex plastic moulded mounting member 10 provided with avertical pivot opening 11 therethrough for mounting on a false twistingmachine in a pivotal manner (the details of which are omitted for thesake of clarity). The yarn drive roller itself is shown as 12, and isrotatably mounted on the mounting member 10 by any suitable bearingmeans notshown, so that the same may be driven at high rotational speed.An angled guide roller 13 is rotatably mounted on the mounting member 10more or less vertically below the drive roller 12. The guide roller 13is set at a slight angle to the axis of rotation of the drive roller 12,whereby to guide the turns of the yarn around the drive roller 12, andkeep them spaced in a more or less predetermined spaced relation so thatthey do not become tangled together. A yarn guide shoe 14 is provided toone side of the mounting mem ber 10 for guiding the first turn of yarnonto the drive roller 12. The driver roller 12 is provided with a drivegear 15 by means of which the drive roller 12 may be engaged with apower operated gear drive in the false twisting machine (not shown) andthereby driven at high speeds during operation of the machine.

It will of course be understood that the mounting member 10, guideroller 13, and the general configuration of typical yarn drive rollersare known per se and form no part of the present invention.

The yarn drive roller 12 according to this preferred embodiment of theinvention comprises the generally cylindrical roller body portion 16 andthe replaceable drum member 17 which are separable from one another andare held together by the screw 18 as will be described below.

With reference now to FIGS. 2 and 3, it will be seen that the rollerbody portion 16 is of generally cylindrical shape having four interiorrib members 18, one of which is provided with a screw threaded recess 20for reception of screw 18 therein. The exterior of the roller body 116,according to the practice of the present invention is stepped to providea shoulder 23 thereon for purposes to be described, and is provided withany suitable form of bearing housing such as the sleeve member 22 at itsinner end.

The replaceable drum member 17 is provided around the body 16 and willbe seen to comprise an inner generally cylindrical metallic sleevemember 23 having an enlarged portion indicated as 24 and defining aninner shoulder 25 for abuttment against the shoulder 21 on the rollerbody portion 16. The sleeve 23 is provided with an enlarged metallicdrive band or surface 26 and an outer tire mounting surface 27 ofreduced diameter in relation to the diameter of the band portion 26. Africtional drive tire member 28 formed of rubber, composition orsynthetic frictional material, in this case being a cylindrical portionof polyurethane material, is bonded in place as by the adhesive layer29. The outer surfaces of the tire 28 and the annular metallic drivesurface 26 are co-planar to provide a smooth continuous surface fordriving of the yarn at high speeds.

Preferably according to the invention the whole of the sleeve 23 ismachined from aluminum and the annular metallic surface 26 is anodizedby a technique known as hard anodizing which provides a highly wearresistant surface which has been found according to the invention tohave properties which are peculiarly suitable for the high speed drivingof synthetic yarns. Preferably, the first turn or wrap of the yarn willpass around the metallic drive surface 26, which is thereby subjected tothe heaviest wearing stresses and the remaining wraps or turns passaround the frictional tire As shown in FIG. 2, the sleeve 23 may beslipped over the roller body member 16 until the shoulder 25 abuttsagainst the shoulder 21, afterwhich the screw 18 can be inserted intothe recess 20 and tightened up thereby fastening the drum 17 firmly inposition.

In operation, the yarn will pass upwardly through the guide shoe M andbe wrapped around the replaceable drum 7 with the first turn passingaround the metallic drive surface 26 and then downwardly around theguide roller 13 and then upwardly and downwardly another three timesaround the tire 28. In this way, during use the first turn is carried onthe drive surface 26 which is highly resistant to abrasion, and theremainder of the turns are carried on the tire 28. Obviously, thefrictional properties of the tire 28 are somewhat greater than thedrivesurface 26 and are designed so as to provide sufficient frictionagainst the turns of the yarn as to drive them with a minimum ofslippage.

It will thus be noted that the invention provides in a yarn driveroller, a two part drive surface, comprising a hard wear resistant bandportion, and a frictional drive surface adjacent thereto, said bandportion and the said drive surface being co-planar and thus permittingthe yarn to be wrapped several times around the roller, with the firstsuch wrap or turn being wound around the surface of the wear resistantband portion, and the remaining such wraps or turns being wound aroundthe friction drive surface. Obviously, such a yarn drive roller may bemanufactured in a variety of ways. For example, the yarn drive rollercould be manufactured with the entire drive roller machined out of asingle casting, with the hard wear resistant drive band being machinedout of a portion of the casting integral with the rest of the roller,and the frictional tire being slipped on a portion of the rollerprovided for the purpose. Such a roller would of course have thedisadvantage that the entire roller would have to be removed when it wasdesired to replace the frictional tire portion, but this might possiblybe acceptable in some circumstances. On the other hand, it would bepossible to manufacture the invention in accordance with the alternativeembodiment as shown in FIG. 4. In this embodiment, a replacement drummember R7a will be seen to comprise a sleeve 23a manufactured with aninterior abutment member 25a substantially as in the embodiment of FIGS.l to 3, but the outer surface of such sleeve 23a is cylindricalthroughout its length, unlike the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3. A hardmetallic drive band or wear resistant surface 26a is provided by meansof a separate cylindrical annular member fitting around the exterior ofone end of the sleeve 23a, and secured thereto by any suitable meanssuch as by press fitting, adhesives or the like. A frictional tire 28aof any suitable frictional material such as that described above, isprovided over the exterior of the remainder of the sleeve 23a, theexterior of the band 26a and the tire 28a being co-planar to provide acontinuous surface for the yarn drive roller 12.

Obviously, this brief description of other modifications or alternatemethods of achieving the result according to the invention is by nomeans exhaustive. For example, the tire 28 could itself be mounted on aseparate metallic sleeve, while the wear surface or band portion 26 ismachined integrally with the yarn drive roller itself, and may in factconstitute merely an enlargement of the band extending adjacent to theshoulder 21. In this way, the tire 28 would be replaceable, withoutdisturbing the wear resistant band. However, this latter alternatemethod of constructing the yarn drive roller according to the inventionmay not be quite so desireable since even though the tire 28 isreplaceable, it may be extremely difficult to manufacture it tosufficiently close tolerances to ensure that it is always perfectlyco-planar with the surface of the wear resistant band, and it isgenerally speaking considered preferable to manufacture the twotogether, as described above.

A further unique property of the drive roller according to the inventionwhich has become apparent after extended testing is the fact by virtueof the combination of an anodized metallic band surface 26 and africtional tire 28, the yarn processed is found to have a much higherquality than that processed on a standard drive roller having apolyurethane or other frictional drive tire extending right across itssurface. As yet, no explanation has been found for this unusual result,but it is believed to be due to the fact that as the first turn or wrapof yarn passes sideways across the surface of the band surface 26, it issmoothed and polished in a manner not hitherto possible using standardpolyurethane tires right across the surface of the drive roller.

The foregoing is a description of a preferred embodiment of theinvention which is given here by way of example only. The invention isnot to be taken as limited to any of the specific features described,but comprehends all such variations thereof as come within the scope ofthe appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A yarn drive roller for use on yarn processing machines, of the typewherein the roller is driven by the machine and a plurality of turns ofyarn are wound therearound, the yarn being frictionally engaged by theroller which is thereby subjected to a high rate of wear, said driveroller comprising;

roller body means rotatably mountable on said machine,

a two part drive surface on said roller body means, said drive surfacebeing cylindrical and having two ends and being formed with two surfaceportions meeting at a junction point intermediate said two ends, a firstsurface part extending fron one said end to said junction point beingformed of hard smooth material, resistant to wear by said yarn and asecond surface part extending from said junction point to said other andbeing formed of frictional material having less resistance to wear bysaid yarn than said first said surface part whereby yarn wound aroundsaid drive surface may run initially on said first surface portion andsubsequently on said frictional surface, the portions of yarn on saidfrictional surface being frictionally engaged for positively drivingsaid yarn, with said first surface portion taking the initial load;

a drum member adapted to fit snugly around said roller body means forrotation therewith in unison, said two part drive surface being formedon the exterior surface of said drum member, and releasable meanssecuring said drum member on said body.

2. A yarn drive roller as claimed in claim 1 including yarn guide meansmounted adjacent said roller body means, and arranged and oriented toguide a first turn of said yarn onto said first surface part.

3. A yarn drive roller as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first surfacepart is formed by a metallic member, and wherein said second surfacepart is formed by a sleeve of rubber.

4. A yarn drive roller as claimed in claim 1 including abuttment meansformed on the surface of said roller body means, and complementarymating abuttment means formed on an inner surface of said releaseabledrum, said abuttment means adapted to abut with one another and limitinterengagement between said roller body means and said drum member, andincluding releaseable retaining means interengageable between saidroller body means and said drum member to secure the same in position asaforesaid.

5. A yarn drive roller as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first surfacepart is formed of an annular band of metal formed separately from saidroller body, and fastened thereto in predetermined location, and whereinsaid second surface part is formed! of a generally cylindrical sleevemember formed of frictional material, having one end abutting againstsaid cylindrical band member, and having a surface co-planar with thesurface of said cylindrical band member whereby to define a continuoustwo part drive surface on said roller body as aforesaid.

6. A yarn drive roller as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first surfacepart is formed of anodized aluminum.

7. A yarn drive roller as claimed in claim 1 wherein said second surfacepart is formed by a sleeve of synthetic rubber.

8. A yarn drive roller as claimed in claim 1 wherein said second surfacepart is formed by a sleeve of synthetic plastic material.

1. A yarn drive roller for use on yarn processing machines, of the typewherein the roller is driven by the machine and a plurality of turns ofyarn are wound therearound, the yarn being frictionally engaged by theroller which is thereby subjected to a high rate of wear, said driveroller comprising; roller body means rotatably mountable on saidmachine, a two part drive surface on said roller body means, said drivesurface being cylindrical and having two ends and being formed with twosurface portions meeting at a junction point intermediate said two ends,a first surface part extending fron one said end to said junction pointbeing formed of hard smooth material, resistant to wear by said yarn anda second surface part extending from said junction point to said otherand being formed of frictional material having less resistance to wearby said yarn than said first said surface part whereby yarn wound aroundsaid drive surface may run initially on said first surface portion andsubsequently on said frictional surface, the portions of yarn on saidfrictional surface being frictionally engaged for positively drivingsaid yarn, with said first surface portion taking the initial loaD; adrum member adapted to fit snugly around said roller body means forrotation therewith in unison, said two part drive surface being formedon the exterior surface of said drum member, and releasable meanssecuring said drum member on said body.
 2. A yarn drive roller asclaimed in claim 1 including yarn guide means mounted adjacent saidroller body means, and arranged and oriented to guide a first turn ofsaid yarn onto said first surface part.
 3. A yarn drive roller asclaimed in claim 1 wherein said first surface part is formed by ametallic member, and wherein said second surface part is formed by asleeve of rubber.
 4. A yarn drive roller as claimed in claim 1 includingabuttment means formed on the surface of said roller body means, andcomplementary mating abuttment means formed on an inner surface of saidreleaseable drum, said abuttment means adapted to abut with one anotherand limit interengagement between said roller body means and said drummember, and including releaseable retaining means interengageablebetween said roller body means and said drum member to secure the samein position as aforesaid.
 5. A yarn drive roller as claimed in claim 1wherein said first surface part is formed of an annular band of metalformed separately from said roller body, and fastened thereto inpredetermined location, and wherein said second surface part is formedof a generally cylindrical sleeve member formed of frictional material,having one end abutting against said cylindrical band member, and havinga surface co-planar with the surface of said cylindrical band memberwhereby to define a continuous two part drive surface on said rollerbody as aforesaid.
 6. A yarn drive roller as claimed in claim 1 whereinsaid first surface part is formed of anodized aluminum.
 7. A yarn driveroller as claimed in claim 1 wherein said second surface part is formedby a sleeve of synthetic rubber.
 8. A yarn drive roller as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said second surface part is formed by a sleeve ofsynthetic plastic material.